BY ROMMEL YNION
THIS was sometime in 1989 when I was just struggling to find myself, my direction, and my destiny.
I was an eccentric twenty-year-old who lacked self-confidence.
But, faced with a future that beckoned with promise, I had the sense of urgency to rise above my circumstances, and help myself gain faith in my individuality.
“Know thyself” was the greatest admonition I had stumbled on – it came from a book authored by Socrates.
And so, I plunged into the depths of religion, philosophy, and even self-help literature – to know thyself.
To enliven my journey of self-discovery, I also attended seminars on public speaking – and personality development.
There was a class – at Speechpower on Aurora Blvd. in Quezon City – that still stands out in my mind.
Joe Mordeno, the owner of Speechpower (who was also the first Filipino public-speaking teacher in the University of Hawaii) always held his audience in thrall in that jam-packed auditorium every Saturday – his extemporaneous speeches always leaving them spellbound. Mordeno – I dare say – was the greatest Filipino public speaker whoever ever walked the earth.
And one of the unforgettable things he shared with us in those weekend classes was his observation that “there are so many ‘summas’ who never made it in life.”
He was referring to students who graduated summa cum laude from college.
Ah, let me repeat that – “There are so many summas who never made it in life.”
And how right he was!
For the past 25 years, my life has validated that.
Yes, what is important is not intelligence, but attitude; not knowledge, but wisdom.
“You will find out someday that some of your classmates who always get the highest grades now – brimming with academic honors and exuding confidence and satisfaction – will sadly look miserable in your class reunions as if the world collapsed all around them,” Mordeno said.
Since I was an inveterate college drop-out (dropping out of, at least, eight colleges in my lifetime so far due to financial issues), I was, perhaps, one of the few in the academic world who was able to observe so many “summas” at that time.
Today, in the plethora of class reunions I attend (since even if a college drop-out, they still consider me a member of their “batches”), I always see those “summas” who 25 years ago, brimmed with self-confidence as if they stood on top of the world.
Do they still exude that aura of invincibility in our gatherings now?
Sad to say, almost half of them – or even more – have become pictures of “power failure”.
What happened to their “magnetism” which enabled them to attract the symbols of success in the academe during their heyday: popularity, self-confidence, and academic honors.
From their looks alone, it is obvious that they lost it along the way.
Why?
Let my hypothesize – and this is based on my own scientific research through the years – that those “summas” swallowed the educational system hook, line, and sinker, believing that it was the panacea for their hearts’ desires.
But, alas, they proved themselves wrong – and like the Miami Heat that recently faced a better team in San Antonio Spurs, they didn’t have an answer to what gave them a mountain of troubles.
And this is what happened to these poor “summas”.
They thought that after college, life was just about getting good grades, landing high-paying jobs, and enjoying a bright future.
Yes, along the way, something must have snapped.
Faced with real problems in the real world – searching for meaning, facing money woes, raising children, dealing with interpersonal relationships, being square pegs in round holes in so many aspects of their lives – they groped for solutions but found none.
And so, they sank deeper into life’s debilitating realities, unable to address, let alone, conquer them.
Now, if these “summas” epitomize today’s educational system, does the state of most of their lives mean that our educational system is inadequate?
As Leo Buscaglia said, they teach us everything in school, except how to live!
Ah, let me repeat that – they teach us everything in school, except how to live!
Small wonder that more often than not, greatness belongs to the college drop-outs who learned early in life how to face the real world, as opposed to the book-laden lives of the “summas” who scintillated in college with their academic honors.
Alas, there is more to life than getting good grades in school.
This is what I often tell my son: Don’t wait to become a great man; be a great boy.
Be great in everything, especially in your love for God, yourself, and your fellowmen.
For it is only in love that we can find faith that can help us live more meaningful lives and make this world a better place to live in.
And this is what they don’t teach in schools that the “summas” never learned.
It is the power of love to conquer all – especially the obstacles that stand between them and their hearts’ desires./PN
